The existence of large deposits of methane hydrate can be found in abundant quantities in the deep oceans around the United States, particularly in Arctic Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Geological Survey (“USGS”) estimates that methane hydrate may contain more organic carbon than all of the world's coal, oil, and non-hydrate gas combined. Furthermore, the USGS indicates that the United States alone may possess 200 quadrillion cubic feet of natural gas in the form of hydrates. To put this figure in perspective, the world's proved natural gas reserves are on the order of 6 quadrillion cubic feet. These reserves are enough to make a significant contribution towards energy independence and enhancing security.
In the broadest possible terms, a methane hydrate (or a “hydrate”) is a clathrate; that is one compound, (methane), nested within the lattice of another (ice). The challenge lies in separating the methane from the ice lattice, without letting the methane escape to the atmosphere, in a manner that makes methane hydrates more economically feasible than conventional deep water hydrocarbons.
Normally, methane gas, like all fossil fuels, is formed by the decomposition of marine life combined with the pressure of depth and sediment. However, when this decomposition occurs under freezing temperatures and high pressure, each molecule of methane gas naturally forms within a crystalline shell of ice. The ice molecules are bound to each other by hydrogen bonds in a tight polyhedral cage structure, while the methane forms and is trapped within the spaces of the tightly-bound ice cage. The methane within the ice molecules, if it can be captured, is natural gas, a vital fuel source. By the same token, if the ice lattice melts, the methane is released to the atmosphere, contributing to greenhouse gases.
Methane hydrates can also be formed by human activity, creating hazards in conventional deep sea oil and gas production. Oil and gas activities in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico now extend into ocean depths where hydrates naturally occur at the sea floor. As conventional gas is extracted from the frozen, highly pressurized seabed, drill operators must pump hot oil from the surface to prevent hydrate formation within the drilling pipeline.
At best, this method is costly and inefficient. It is only a small improvement over the century-old method of circulating methanol or monoethylene gycol to arrest hydrate crystal formation. More troublingly, the USGS warns that pumping hot oil or chemicals near these seabeds can cause warming of sediments and dissociation of methane from hydrates at the sea floor. In turn, this haphazardly weakens seabed sediment structures and creates pockets of highly pressured methane gas. This condition could lead to blowouts, loss of seabed support for pipelines, and possible underwater landslides, all in addition to the release of unused methane into the atmosphere.
Although methane and methane hydrates are well-known, industry has not yet developed a way to reliably obtain hydrates from the sea floor. Attempts to draw the hydrates to the surface intact cause the ice to melt, allowing methane to release to the atmosphere. Furthermore, recent attempts to manipulate temperature and pressure are not economical enough to allow commercialization.
In order to produce methane from hydrates and to prevent hydrates from clogging deep water drilling activity, the formation and dissociation of methane and hydrate crystals needs to be precisely controlled. At present, there are three well-documented methods with the potential to unlock and produce the gas trapped in gas hydrate deposits, which are:                Reducing the reservoir pressure below the hydrate-equilibrium pressure;        Injecting chemicals into the hydrate layer that will cause dissociation; and        Increasing reservoir temperature above the hydrate equilibrium temperature.Depressurization is impractical for some gas hydrate deposits, due to the large drawdown required to reduce the reservoir pressure below the hydrate equilibrium pressure. Some deposits in the Arctic regions that contain substantial free gas below the gas hydrate may be produced on depressurization, but this method is not feasible if free gas is non-existent or small as in the case of major hydrate deposits located in deep oceans. Furthermore, for offshore deposits where the pressure and temperature in the gas hydrate deposits are not near the equilibrium line, depressurization will not produce gas from the hydrate layer.        
Chemical injection is not feasible on a commercial scale due to the high cost of chemicals, the inability to deliver the chemicals to a specific location in a hydrate reservoir, and the potential of polluting the environment-particularly, the water table.
Presently, the most applicable method for producing gas hydrates is to increase the temperature of the hydrates. The inability to deliver hot water or other heat media to a specific location, however, renders it impractical and ineffective due to high energy consumption and resulting costs.
Recognizing the energy independence potential of methane hydrates, the USGS has spent several years investigating the properties and energy potential of methane hydrates as a fuel source. In addition, legislation has sought to provide incentives for oil and gas developers to develop the critical technology needed for progress on this front. To date, the leading U.S. proposal is to use depressurization to extract methane from the methane hydrates. As depressurization is not economically feasible at commercially viable quantities, this method has not been implemented.
The U.S. is not alone in seeking a way to access the energy in methane hydrates. Germany, South Korea, China, Japan, and India have all made large financial commitments in locating and developing methane hydrates as a fuel source. China in particular is considering the use of drilling and heating pipes to develop the methane hydrates in its coastal seabeds. As outlined above, this method is not only inefficient, it can create its own environmental problems.
Meanwhile, Japan has built what it calls the world's largest research drilling ship to prospect for deep sea methane hydrates, and India has already invested more than $300 million U.S. dollars in discovering a methane hydrate-rich layer of sediment in the Indian Ocean. In addition, Germany is working on a method in which, under the right pressure conditions, the methane within the hydrate lattice is extracted and exchanged for carbon dioxide molecules.
Still other companies and individuals are searching for alternative fuel sources. Some have touted the production of shale gas. However, shale gas is not the solution, due to the need for fracturing, which may pollute the water table.
There is, therefore, a long-standing yet unmet need for methods of producing methane from hydrates and preventing hydrate formation during deep water drilling activities that are safe, reliable, and environmentally friendly, while still economical on a commercial scale.